Accumulation of p53 in relation to long-term prognosis in colorectal carcinoma.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic value of p53 in colorectal cancer. DESIGN: A retrospective study to investigate the correlation between p53 in tumour tissue and the course of patients' disease. PATIENTS One hundred and two patients who underwent radical surgery for colorectal cancer and were followed up for a minimum of 5 years, or until death, were included in this study. METHODS: The p53 expression in tumour tissue was studied by immunohistochemistry using CM1 polyclonal rabbit antibody and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material. RESULTS: p53 accumulation was detected in 46% (47/102) of the tumours. There was no significant difference in long-term survival between the patients with p53 positive and negative tumours (P=0.86). Five-year survival rates were 55% for p53 positive tumours compared with 56% for patients with p53 negative tumours. However, patients with p53 overexpressing tumours showed a higher local recurrence rate than those having carcinomas with undetectable levels of p53, 23% versus 9% respectively; the 2-year actuarial rates of 26% and 9% were statistically different (P=0.015). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that in colorectal carcinoma accumulation of p53 is not associated with a difference in long-term prognosis. However, this phenomenon might be useful in the identification of patients with a high risk of local recurrence.